Stand-up Scene: Spin the wheel and take a risk

The wheel was not kind to comedian Arslon. Forced to spend four minutes performing only crowd work, the Turkish standup said simply in his broken English, "This is the biggest punishment to comedy." But this is what the standup gets for signing up to take part in the inaugural open-mic night at The Comedy Bar, a downtown room run by comedian Kyle Lane and partner Jim Belushi — who stops by occasionally to do special nights.

The premise of this new open-mic night is that each comic who puts his or her name on the signup sheet must also spin a wheel that either gives the chance to deliver a three-, four- or eight-minute set, or requires a specific theme like "crowd work," "get heckled" or "no microphone." This got me thinking about the importance of raising stakes in comedy and specifically, what happens when a comic, either by chance or by choice, takes a risk on stage.

Joey Villagomez, for example, is the first comedian to perform, and he spends most of his set laying bare the difficulties and frustrations of a comic's life. "This is rough," he says plain and simply to the newbie comedians in the room. "You're going to want to jump off a bridge in about four years. You don't make any money either. I did HBO about six years ago and thought, 'This is it, I'm about to make it.' Six years later I still can't afford HBO."

Alex Moffat, meanwhile, takes a huge risk by doing his entire set under the guise of a German comic. Moffat skillfully weaves together English, German and bits of fake German and lays on an outlandish accent that is thicker than a slice of Black Forest cake: "Mein Herren und Damen," says Moffat, "Ich liebe Chicago, homen auf sie grosse pizza, Lake Michigan, den Polar Vortex und auch den homicidal South Side." Maybe you had to be there, but it is one of the riskiest things I've seen in a long time and pays off for Moffat in spades. The crowd loves it.

Mostly, the wheel is kind to the comedians tonight at Comedy Bar, until Alan Grafton spins the wheel and lands on "cleanest" meaning that his entire set must be free of obscenities. Grafton rises mightily to the challenge by delivering a set free of salty language that nevertheless manages to be smart and edgy. "People love dirty comedy," says Grafton. "Someone came up to after a show once and suggested I spice up my material, make it more controversial by doing an abortion joke. That that kind of stuff offends me so I wrote a joke about adoption instead. I feel I made the right choice." That one earns a nice smattering of applause.

Jonathan Euseppi, meanwhile, wins a free drink ticket with his wheel spin, but nevertheless lays himself bare by talking about human things like having too much body hair and eating better to avoid taking uncomfortable dumps in public restrooms. "I'm half Italian, but I didn't get any of the cool parts of being Italian like the accent or the sweet jump suits, I just got all of the hair," he says. "My girlfriend said she was into hairy guys, but a month in she was like, can you please shave? So we're in the bathroom and she's shaving me and so much hair is falling to the ground that she picks it up and goes, 'I wish we could give this to a child.'"

Kelsie Huff is never shy about taking risks and speaking her truth onstage. Huff headlines "100 Proof Comedy," a show that happens Mondays at the ComedySportz. "My name is Kelsie Huff and I am a lady. Mostly here and here," she says pointing to her frontal lady parts, "and sometimes here," she says in reference to her booty. "We don't talk about that." Huff does a nice takedown of dainty ladies versus real women and also tells a wonderful and fearless story about how her mother once read an article about a daughter who sued her mom for posting naked pics of her as a baby on Facebook. Worried that Kelsie might sue her, she goes through all her baby pictures and cuts out her private parts. "Here's the kicker y'all," says Huff. "My mom doesn't throw anything away so there is a shoebox full of va-jay-jays somewhere in my mom's house."

Another comic who never holds back is comedian Chad Briggs. A current cast member at "Chicago Underground Comedy," Briggs's set at the ComedySportz tonight focuses on the soul-crushing humiliation that comes with commercial work. "I like to go on auditions a lot because I like to sell tiny bits of my soul over a short period of time for money," he says. Briggs says he's aged to the point where he now auditions for the role of Dad and he has shares harsh barbs for the parents who pimp out their Tylers and Hunters to do this kind of work: "I don't know if they've ever seen an "E! True Hollywood Story," he says, "but every child actor's career ends badly except for Ron Howard."

My final show for the week is Godfrey, a former Chicago comic and current headliner who has appeared several times on "Louie" and appears tonight at the UP Comedy Club. His recent Comedy Central special, "Godfrey: Black By Accident," isn't particularly personal or forthcoming (although it's still very funny), but Godfrey surprises me tonight with a set that goes to very human places, like when he takes on how easily men soil their underwear. "If you wear white underwear, you better plan your day," he says. "If you fart, let it implode, take the stomach in." And also, "Men we keep our underwear even when the band has given up," he says. "Band looks like a stroke victim."

Elsewhere, Godfrey, who attended Lane Tech High School on the city's North Side, joked about being taunted by his "regular black" friends for being Nigerian. The stories he told and impressions he does of his immigrant father are simultaneously humbling and hilarious and more importantly, serve as a reminder that regardless of whether comedians are cutting their teeth for the first time at an open mic, headlining in their own city or out touring the world, there is always room for risky and raw comedy and that's pretty awesome to know.